Finished

• Olivia Joules and Her Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding

  Rating: *
  
  Good God, where to start. A massive disappointment? That might be strong enough. Or let me put it this way, I only got through a third of it before I just flipped/skimmed through it for the mediocre bits - and I obsessive-compulsively read everything to the bitter end! The premise was bizarre and illogical (which I could deal with, having read her Bridget Jones books after all), but the writing was very self-conscious, uneven, and unsophisticated. Her stereotypes were also bordering on the racist. It read like a hackneyed romance novel and also like how a middle-aged woman imagines cool, single people live (lots of cloying and annoying clothes/setting descriptions). What a gulf from her wonderful debut (Cause Celeb), and even the last BJD, which was borderline schizo, but still amusing. Oh sadness.